Here is What I Have to Say Today......

 L ast September, we watched the news in horror as an entire family was killed by drunk driver, Marco Muzzo.   The accident was shocking, senseless and heart breaking.   Ed Lake and Jennifer Neville-Lake are devastated by the loss of their children, Daniel age 9, Harrison age 5, and Milagros age 2 and their Grandfather, Gary Neville.   When Muzzo spoke at his sentencing hearing, they left the courtroom unable to listen to his grief, remorse, and apology.   To any parent, this is the most horrifying and unthinkable event.   The internet was buzzing with people condemning Muzzo.   Many thought 10 years in jail was too lenient and indeed he deserved the death penalty.   At one time, I believed the same thing.   But not anymore. Almost 10 years ago I met Steve.   He was a young man who had made a terrible mistake.   He made the choice to drive drunk and ended up killing his best friend in a horrible accident.   When I me...

Today is my Grandma’s 100 th Birthday!   Last Sunday, we celebrated with cake and ice cream.   Her remaining children and siblings were there along with many of her grandchildren and great grandchildren.   It was fun to look back at old photographs and reminisce.   In Grandma’s 100 years this world has changed greatly.   Instead of family farms we now have factory farms and GMO’s.   The number of cars on the road, the size of cities, and the height of high-rise buildings must seem baffling.   Cell phones, computers, and the internet have changed how we communicate and interact with each other.   Medical advances, birth control, feminism, globalization….the changes keep on coming.   Grandma, however, has stayed pretty much the same over the years because her life has been shaped by the era in which she was born and her conservative Mennonite beliefs.   She has never had a TV, let alone a cell phone or computer.   And the rad...

So the word on the street is that Mayor Joe Nowak wants to have a “Town Hall Meeting” on the Greenwood Hill multi-use trail.   I am sure he is thinking who would say no to a trail?   A trail is surely a welcome addition to any community.   I sure wouldn’t say no to a trail   except when said trail has not been properly planned for, budgeted for, nor implemented according to the Townships own guidelines.   Joe is obviously determined to implement this trail at any and all cost to us taxpayers. This evening I grabbed my camera and headed out to document where this trail is supposed to go.   Greenwood Hill Road is a narrow country road with little room for a shoulder to walk on and cars, trucks, and transport trucks whizzed by me kicking up dust and small stones.   Horse and buggies also regularly use this road although, thankfully, I did not encounter one tonight. I did not feel very comfortable walking along Greenwood Hill and normally I would not ...

As a woman and mother of two teenage daughters I would just like to say thank you to Prime Minister Trudeau for implementing Canada’s first gender balanced cabinet.   It has been long overdue. There are several reasons why having a gender balanced cabinet should be celebrated.   The first is that these women are occupying real positions of power in our government.   Unfortunately women hold about 20% of the power positions in corporations even though we make up more than 50% of the population.   When women are denied a chair at the table where decisions are made they loss their voice and thus the female perspective is lost.   So it is wonderful to see our government take a leadership role in bringing true equality about. Finally woman’s voices will have a chance to be heard in regards to policy and in the media.   We are able to participate in our own destinies. Secondly, having these female cabinet ministers be role models for our children opens th...